Comment by Martin Atanasov:
What can make young people stay in Bulgaria? This is a question that we have heard so many times that it often sounds trite. But behind it lies the biggest challenge for the country since 1989.
The answer does not lie only in salaries and economic and social indicators, nor in the latest EC report - it is in the feeling. A feeling that raises the following questions: Does it make sense for me here? Are there opportunities that are real and workable? And most importantly - is my voice heard in the decisions that affect my life?
The moment when young people make their choice
Since the beginning of the transition, Bulgaria has been losing tens of thousands of young and educated people every year. The reasons are well known - better conditions for a career abroad, higher incomes, better quality education, a safer environment. "Brain drain" is not just a metaphor - it is a reality that weakens the economy and puts the future of the country in limbo. Because when young people leave, the potential for change also leaves with them.
The question of whether to stay in Bulgaria or leave does not suddenly appear after graduation - it matures slowly, often starting in the teenage years. In most cases, around the 12th grade, this internal debate already enters its decisive phase. This is an age when ambitions, dreams and ideas about the future collide with reality - what are the possibilities, what does the path forward look like, are you ready to take it in Bulgaria and is it worth it?
The roots of this decision are deeply connected to the experiences and impressions that young people receive years before - from the way the school supports or ignores them, through access to opportunities for personal development, volunteering and mentors, to the feeling of justice and meaning in society.
After the end of education, the framework changes - the issues of professional realization, salary, working conditions and chance for development become leading. But the starting point is the same - the feeling of whether the environment wants and supports you.
The world example versus the Bulgarian reality
Many countries face similar demographic challenges. Successful examples have a common denominator - young people are included in important social processes from the very beginning. In the Scandinavian countries, youth councils to institutions have real powers and can influence policies. In Canada and Australia, young teams lead public campaigns with state support. Even countries with smaller budgets than Bulgaria find a way to finance and mentor youth projects. This is not a gesture to "take away the numbers", but a strategy to retain energy and talent.
In our country, the model is the opposite - absolutely formal consultations, lack of real influence and institutional distrust, and sometimes even direct opposition. As a young person with civic and professional experience, I have seen this firsthand many times. My last personal example was a few weeks ago.
My project "Black Track" - an interactive platform with data on over 177,000 accidents - reached hundreds of thousands of people and sparked a serious debate about road safety and the actions of the state. The reaction of the institutions was silence and refusal to cooperate. The reason is not a lack of data. The only logical reason seems to me to be the reluctance to admit that someone outside the system, especially at the age of 18, can be more effective than all the civil servants who receive a salary.
A similar picture was repeated when (not) including young people in the discussion of changes to the Preschool and School Education Act. Banning mobile phones in schools, introducing the subject "Virtues and Religions", changes in curricula - topics that directly affect them. And yet their voice was not heard, and those who dared to speak out were attacked, scolded and silenced.
Decisions with long-term consequences for an entire generation are made without direct dialogue with them. This not only undermines the legitimacy of the changes, but also creates the feeling that young people are objects of policies, not subjects in their creation. The result is apathy, distrust and even greater alienation.
The change we need
When young people see that decisions are being made without them, and their attempts to contribute hit a wall, the conclusion is more than clear: "There is no place for me here". This is not just disappointment, but a signal that change is impossible from within. And at this point, emigration becomes not a choice for the better, but an escape from the bad.
If Bulgaria wants to retain its young people, it needs to change its approach - both institutionally and socially. Institutions need to work with young people as equal partners, not as "students waiting for a diploma and a photo". Society needs to stop seeing young people as people who "don't know yet" and see in them the energy that can move the country forward.
This includes specific measures: creating real youth representations with powers, introducing mechanisms for public discussion that actively involve young people, supporting youth entrepreneurship and innovation through access to resources, mentoring and funding. Education is also needed that prepares not only for exams, but also for real civic and professional challenges.
The choice "here or abroad" is not only economic, but is also deeply connected to the sense of belonging and meaning. In countries where young people are part of the decisions, they are less likely to seek their future elsewhere. Bulgaria cannot afford to lose its most active part of society. Change is possible - but it is not enough to point to the young as the future only for political purposes. It must be understood once and for all that they are also the present of the country. And they must be implemented in its processes here and now.
And last but not least: a change in the thinking of young people themselves is necessary. They must realize their potential and energy, understand the scale of what they can achieve, and see the example of their peers around the world. It is precisely these examples that unequivocally show that young people have historically always been the carriers of the energy for real change in the environment we call our home.